Yarn traverse for yarn winding machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. Edwazd dfiezfzer E. J. HEIZER YARNTRAVERSE FOR YARN WINDING MACHINES Sept. 23, 1952 Filed July 9', 1949Sept. 23, 1952 E. J. HEIZER YARN TRAVERSE FOR YARN WINDING MACHINES 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1949 INVENTOR. Edward JA e-A'Zer W wATTORNEY Sept. 23, 1952 E. J. HEIZER YARN TRAVERSE FOR YARN WINDINGMACHINES Filed July 9, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR- Edward 'Jfiez'zerBY ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 23, 1952 YARN TRAVERSE FOR YARN WINDINGMACHINES Edward J. Heizer, Mountain Lakes, N. .L, assignor toSpecialties Development Corporation, Belleville, N. J., a corporation ofNew Jersey Application July 9, 1949, Serial No.103,934

15 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to winding machines and the like and, moreparticularly, to an improved yarn traverse for such machines.

The primary object of the present inventionis to provide a machine forwinding yarn in an extraordinarily rapid manner to produce packages,bobbins, cones or quills of excellent quality.

Another object is to provide such a machine wherein the traverse isadapted to be operated at extremely high speeds.

Another object is to provide such a machine which is relatively quiet inoperation and free from undue vibrations.

Another object is to provide such a machine which is simple andeconomical in construction, and which can withstand prolonged operationwith a minimum amount of supervision, maintenance and repair.

Another object is to provide such a machine wherein the yarn traverserapidly reverses the yarn.

Another object is to provide a yarn traverse with close control of theyarn which eliminates or greatly minimizes the formation of .stitches atthe ends of a package or the like.

Another object is to provide a yarn traverse which facilitates guidingthe yarn thereto. 7

Another object is to provide a yarn traverse wherein reciprocating partsare eliminated.

Another object is to provide a yarn traverse wherein the traversemembers are extremely light in weight and are balanced dynamically tofacilitate vibrationless high speed rotation.

A further object is to provide a machine of the foregoing characterwhich is adapted to wind a large variety of yarns at speeds varying overa wide range, the speed selected being that most advantageous andeconomical for a given type of yarn.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects may beaccomplished by providing an improved yarn traverse which generallycomprises a pair of members having surfaces constructed and arranged toprovide an endless slit in which the yarn is passed back and forth, anddrive means for rotating these members including shafts and gearsoperated by a common drive shaft.

More specifically, the traverse members are generally conical and aremounted at an angle with respect to each other. These members have camsurfaces which are in the form of a coneshaped double spiral toprovide'in effecta conical heart cam, and are so formed to facilitateguiding the yarn therebetween and to eifect. rapid reversal of thetravel of the yarn.

An embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, whereini Figure 1 is a side view,partly in section, of a yarn winding machine in accordance with theinvention.

Figure 2 isa top view of the yarn traverse of the winding machine.

Figure 3 is a schematic view, illustrating the path of the yarn from asource to a package being wound.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the traverse elements inaccordance with the invention, the elements being shown in substantiallythe same position asin Figures 1 and 2.,

Figure 5 is a top'view of the traverse elements illustrating therelation of the yarn thereto as it is being moved towards one end of thepackage.

Figure 6 is a topview of the traverse elements illustrating the relationof the yarn thereto just as it has reached the endof the package.

Figure '7 is a top view ofthe traverse elements illustrating therelation of the yarn thereto after it has reached the end of the packageand is being moved in a reverse direction.

Figure 8 is a schematic view illustrating the manner in which theyarn'is laid on the package in utilizing the apparatus of the presentinvention.

Referring .to the drawings, and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2thereof, there is shown, by way of example, a yarn winding machine ofthe type for producing yarn packages or'the like. The machinegenerallycomprises a base iii, an upright bracket I l on the base, aspindle l2 supported by the bracket for Winding. a yarn package M whichmay be tubular as shown or, conical if desired, and a traverse head ormechanism IE on the base positioned beneath thespindle. The spindle andtraverse mechanism are operated by a source ofpower adapted to beapplied to a pulley IE which is operatively connected to the spindle andtraverse mechanism by suitable gears and/or pulleys and belts or thelike (not shown) to effect rotation of the spindle and movement of thetraverse mechanism to wind and traverse the yarn, respectively. Sincesuch drive connecting means are well known and do not constitute a partof the present invention, illustration or detailed description thereofis believed to be unnecessary.

The traverse mechanism generally comprises a substantially hollowY-shaped housing 28 having a depending leg 2| and pair of upwardly andoutwardly extending arms 22 deposed at an angle of 120 to the leg and toeach other, a traverse member 24 rotatably supported on each of the arms(Figures 1 to 7), a cover or casing 25 for the housing, a pressureroller 26, for contacting the package being wound, mounted on the cover(Figures 1 to 3), and means 21 for supporting the leg 21 and for raisingor lowering the traverse mechanism with respect to the spindle 12(Figure 1).

The leg 2| of the housing 20 has bearings 29 therein for rotatablysupporting a shaft 38. The shaft has its lower end operatively connectedfor rotation to the drive pulley 16 (not shown) and has a bevel gear 31at its upper end. Each arm 22 of the housing 28 has bearings 32 thereinfor rotatably supporting a stud shaft 34. Each shaft 34 has a traversemember 24 connected to the upper outer end thereof and has a bevel gear35 adjacent its lower inner and adapted to mesh with the bevel gear 35of the other shaft 34. One of the shafts 34 has a bevel gear 35 at itslower end adapted to mesh with the bevel gear 31 whereby the shafts 34are in driven connection with the shaft 30 for rotation inthe samedirection about axes in a common plane.

As illustrated schematically in Figure 3, the yarn Y to be wound issupplied by a source 40. is passed through guide means 41 and 42,tensioning means 44, and is engaged by the members 24 to traverse thesame as about to be described in detail. In order to admit the yarnwithin the traverse mechanism, one side of the cover or casing 25 has aslit 45 at the middle thereof (Figure 2) through which the yarn passes.The traversed yarn leaves the casing 25 by way of a rectangular slot oropening 46 in the top thereof above which the roller 26 is positioned.

In Figure 4, a pair of traverse members 24 are shown in detail apartfrom the drive mechanism, but positioned substantially in the samerelationship in which they are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The members 24or cams, as they may be called, have cooperating surfaces providing anendless slit in which the yarn is passed back and forth or traversedupon rotation of the members. Since the members 24 are practicallyidentical, a description of one of them will be suificient to understandthe construction thereof.

The member 24 has a relatively thin-walled, generally conical,cup-shaped, body 49 and has a circular closed end 50 provided with a hub51 for receiving and connecting the upper end of the shaft 34. Themember 24 has a generally double spiral yarn guiding surface 52 at thefree edge of the body which preferably is constructed and arranged toprovide a substantially conical heartshaped cam surface. Moreparticularly, this surface has a pointed portion 54 and has asubstantially V-shaped notch 55 opposite the portion 54. The portion ofthe member 24 providing one side of the notch 55 is recessedprogressively at the top thereof to form a lip 56 adapted to cooperatewith the pointed portion 54 of the other member 24 as will be describedhereinafter. The body of the member 24 has a plurality of cut outportions 4 or apertures 51 therein which reduce the mass of the memberand facilitate dynamic balancing of the members 24. This may beaccomplished. by counterweighted portions rotatable with the members 24.For example, as shown in Figure 1,. the gears 35 may have counterweights38 thereon positioned diametrically opposite the pointed pertions 54 ofthe cam or traverse members 24 where-- by the center of mass of themembers 24 and their rotating means is in effect at the axes of theshafts 34. This permits high rotation of the traverse members withoutvibration.

When a pair of members 24 is arranged as illustrated and describedherein (Figures 1 and 4) the top side of the body of each member istangentially disposed to a common plane, for

example, a horizontal plane at the top side of the bodies 49, and suchplane is at right angles to a vertical'plane in which the axes of theshafts 34 are disposed. In this manner, a slit is provided between thecam surfaces 52 on the free edges of the cam members 24 at the top side(adjacent the aforesaid horizontal plane), and, upon rotation of themembers 24, the slit acts as the opening of a guide which moves back andforth with respect to the axis of the spindle whereby the cam surfacesproviding the slit traverse the yarn as it is being wound on a package,tube, cone or bobbin.

In accomplishing the foregoing, the cam surface of each of the members24 alternately acts as a leading and a trailing edge of the slit. Thatis, the cam surface of one member leads the yarn from the right to theleft and the cam surface of the other member trails the yarn withoutcontacting the same, but, upon completion of right to left movement ofthe yarn, the trailing edge contacts the yarn and becomes the leadingedge for moving the yarn from the left to the right while the previousleading edge now becomes the trailing edge. In other words the surfaces52 alternately shear the yarn back and forth as it is wound on thepackage.

The cooperation of the cam members in the aforesaid manner isillustrated in Figures 5 to 7, and, more particularly, such cooperationis illutrated before, at and after the direction of traversing movementof the yarn is reversed from left to right.

In Figure 5, the surface 52 of the cam member 24 at the right is actingas the leading edge to move the yarn from right to left, such movementalmost being completed as the yarn is approaching the pointed portion54.

In Figure 6, the yarn has reached the tip of the pointed portion 54 andright to left movement thereof has been completed. The lip 56 of the cammember 24 at the left has now moved under the tip of the portion 54 ofthe cam member at the right, and, as the yarn passes over the tip,

'the edge of the lip instantaneously engages the yarn to lead it fromthe left to the right as shown in Figure 7. The same cooperation betweenthe lip and tip takes place at the extreme movement of the yarn to theright and Iieedn'ot be illustrated or described in view of theforegoing.

The construction and arrangement of the tip and lip as illustrated anddescribed herein provides for the quick reversal of the direction inwhich the yarn is moved by the traverse mechanism. Such quick reversalis highly advantageous because the occurrences of stitches at the sidesor ends of the package are eliminated. This is accomplishedbecause theyarn'direction is reversed so quickly'that it is laid while tens'ionedat the side edges of the package to grip the layer of yarn underneath(Figure 8). In this manner the yarn at the sides of the package does notslip off the layers of yarn beneath the same toform stitches.

Winders in accordance with the present invention are adapted to beoperated at extraordinarily high speeds to provide yarn packages ofbetter quality than those wound at lower speed on previous winders. Forexample, the spindle or its equivalent may be rotated 6,000 revolutionsper minute, and the cams 24 may be geared to rotate from 1,000 to 1,500revolutions per minute to provide a precision package having a traverseof from 2 to 3 spirals of yarn across its face.

In the following table examples are given of packages produced by apackage winder in accordance with the present invention.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the presentinvention provides an improved winder which is simple and economical inconstruction and is highly effective inoperation. The present inventioneliminates the use of reciprocating parts which are noisy and produceundesirable vibrations, and can therefore be operated at extraordinarilyhigh yarn winding and traverse speeds. The mass of the traverse membersand the moving parts associated therewith is reduced to a minimumthereby facilitating dynamic balancing thereof which in turn permitsrotation of the traverse members at the high speeds indicated herein.The winder reduces yarn breakage to a minimum, and can withstandcontinuous usage over long periods without repairs or replacement ofparts.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described inconnection with a package type winder wherein the traverse and spindleare positively driven by interconnected drive means, it will beunderstood that the traverse in accordance with the invention may beadvantageously utilized in drum type winders wherein the cam or traversemembers would serve to rotate a package in frictional contact therewithand supported on a freely rotatable spindle.

It will also be appreciated that the traverse in accordance with thepresent invention is adapted for use in connection with other types ofwinding machines, such as, for example, filling or quill winders or thelike.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising'a support, a pair ofshafts mounted on said support at an angle with respect to each other, agear on each of said shafts in meshing relation with the other, agenerally conical cupshaped member having a generally conicalheartshaped yarn guiding edge surface mounted on each of saidshaftsconstructed and: arranged to cooperate withi'each other and provide anendless slit inwhich'yarnis adapted to be passed back and forth, a driveshaft. .on said support, and a gear on said drive shaft inmeshing'relation with one of said gears on one of said pair of shafts. V

2. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a support, a pair ofshafts mounted on said support atan angle with respectto each other, agear on each of said shafts in meshin relation with the other, agenerally conical cupshaped member having a generally conicalheartshaped yarn guiding edge surface mounted on each of said shaftsconstructed and'arranged to cooperate with each otherand provide anendless slit in which yarn is adapted to be passed back and forth, adrive shaft on said support, a gear on said drive shaft in meshingrelation with one of said gears on one of said pair of shafts, andweight means mounted on each of said pair of shafts for dynamicallybalancin said cup-shaped members.

3. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair of opposedgenerally conical cam members having generally complementary heartshapedcam surfaces cooperating to pass yarn back and forth, and means formounting each of said members for rotation about an axis disposed at anangle to the axis of the other, whereby a yarn guiding opening isprovided between said surfaces.

4. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair of opposedhollow generally conical members each formed with a generallyheartshaped cam surface at the free edge thereof complementary to eachother and cooperating to pass yarn back and forth, said cam surfaceseach having a leading edge for moving the yarn in one direction andhaving a trailing edge cooperating with the leading edge of the othersurface to guide the yarn, and means for respectively mounting saidmembers for rotation about axes disposed in a common plane and arrangedat an angle to each other to permit the sides of said member to rotatetangentially to a common plane at right angles to the plane in whichsaid axes are disposed, whereby a yarn guiding opening is providedbetween the respective leading and trailing edges of said cam surfacesfor directing the yarn to points along the intersection of said planes.

5. In a yarn traverse for a winding machine, a generally conicalrotatable member having a heart-shaped yarn guiding edge surfaceprovided with a pointed portion and a substantially V- shaped notchportion opposite said pointed portion, said notch portion being formedwith a lip at one side thereof extending outwardly of said yarn guidingedge surface.

6. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair ofsubstantially identical cam members having a heart-shaped yarn guidingsurface provided with a peak and a dwell opposite each other, means forrotatably mounting said members for movement independently of each otherwith the surfaces thereof adjacent and facing each other to provide anendless slit therebetween moving along a line in a given plane, saidmembers being so positioned on said means that in only a given rotativeposition the peak of one cam member surface faces the dwell of the othercam member surface and that in only another rotative position the peakof the other cam member surface faces the dwell of the first mentionedcam memberl surface, and means for rotating said cam members at the samespeed.

7. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair ofsubstantially identical cam members having a heart-shaped yarn guidingsurface provided with a peak and a dwell, means for rotatably mountingsaid members with the sur-' faces thereof adjacent and facing eachother. to provide an endless slit therebetween, said members being sopositioned on said means that in a given rotative position the peak ofone,'cam member surface faces the dwell of the other cam member surface,and means for. rotating said cam members at the same speed, said mountinmeans each including ashaft, said shafts having their axes ofrotationpositioned in a common plane at an angle to each .other.

8. A yarn traverse for a winding machinecomprising a pair ofsubstantially identical cam mem. bers having a heart-shapedyarn guidingsurface provided with a peak and a diametrically opposite dwell, meansfor rotatably mounting said members with the surfaces thereof adjacentand facing each other to provide an endlessr-slit therebetween, saidmembers being sopositioned on said means that in a given rotativeposition the peak of one cam member surface faces the dwell of the othercam member surface, andmeans for rotating said cam members at the samespeed, said cam members each having a lip at one side of said dwellextending outwardly of said yarn guiding surface and constructed andarranged to be-positioned in overlapping relation with the peak-of theother cam member. 7

9. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair ofsubstantially identical cam'members having a heart-shaped yarn guidingsurface provided with apeak and a dwell, means for rotatably mountingsaid members with the surfaces thereof adjacent and facing each other toprovide an endless slit therebe'tween, said members being so positionedon said means that-in a given rotative position the peak of one cammember surface faces the dwell of the other cam member surface, andmeans for rotating said cam members at the same speed, said mountingmeans each including a shaft, said shafts having their axes of rotationpositioned in a common plane at an angle to each other, said cam membersbeing generally conical and each having a side wall inclined at apredetermined angle with respect to the axis of rotation of its shaft,said predetermined angleand the angle at which said shaft axes aredisposed being such that the sum of twice said predetermined angle andsaid shaft axes angle is 180.

10. A yarn traverse for a winding. machine,

comprising a pair of substantially.identicalgenerally conical cammembers each having a side wall inclined at an angle of about 30 withrespect to the longitudinal axis thereof, said sidewalls each beingprovided with a heart-shaped yarn guiding edge surface at the basethereof formed with a peak and a dwell, means for rotatably mountingsaid members with the surfaces-thereof adjacent and facing each other toprovide an endless slit therebetween and with the axes of said membersdisposed at an angle of about said members being so positioned on saidmeans that in a given rotative position the peak of one cam membersurface faces the dwell of the other cam member surface, and means forrotating said cam members at the same speed.

11. A yarn traverse for a winding machine comprising a pair of adjacentcam members having complementary generall heart-shaped cam surfaces, andmeans for mounting each of said members for rotation about an axisdisposed at an angle to the axis of the other with the axes in the sameplane and for positioning said members to provide a yarn guiding openingbetween said surfaces whereby said members are arranged to pass the yarnback and forth along a line in the plane in which the axes are located.

12. A yarn traverse according to claim 11, wherein each of said cammember surfaces has a pointed portion and a substantially V-shaped notchportion opposite said pointed portion, and said cam members are arrangedfor relative rotation in such a manner that the pointed portion of onecam member cooperates with the notch portion of the other cam member.

13. A yarn traverse according to claim 12, wherein each cam membersurface has a lip at one side of said notch portion adapted to underliesaid pointed portion of the other cam member and to cooperate therewithto reverse the direction in which the yarn is traversed.

14. A yarn traverse according to claim 11, wherein said cam members areof generally conical cup-shape and said cam surfaces are at the freeedges thereof.

15. A yarn traverse according to claim 14, wherein said cam surfacesinclude generally pointed portions and notch portions substantiallydiametrically opposite said pointed portions.

EDWARD J. HEIZER.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,543,519 Reiners June 23, 19251,928,365 Anderson I Sept. 26, 1933 2,044,621 McHugh June 16, 19362,151,327 Moncrieif Mar. 21, 1939 2,249,147 Kuppers July 15, 19412,352,781 Fletcher July 4, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date472,386 Germany Feb. 27, 1929 611,253 France July 3, 1926

